Via Memeographs.
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Labels: Ali Forney Center, Carl Siciliano, Duck Dynasty, homelessness, LGBT youth, NYC, Phil Robertson, religion
A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
One
of the main pursuits of Buddhism is to bridge the gap between the way
things appear and the way things are. That approach does not come just
from a curiosity to investigate phenomena. It arises from the
understanding that an incorrect perception of reality inevitably leads
to suffering.
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It’s
all about intention. If your intention is skillful, imbued with
compassion, the quality of your effort will be skillful. And you can
develop skillful intention.
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We
spend decades of our lives wanting happiness, peace, and
contentment—without sowing the causes for that aspiration. Why did we
not plant the seeds of the fruition we aspire to? Buddhist logic says
that if you plant a lemon seed and pray for a mango fruit, logically it
won’t work. But this is what we do: we wish for happiness without
planting the seeds of happiness.
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The practice of true generosity is rare; it is an exchange in which both giver and receiver are enriched.
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Understanding
and accepting who you really are right now is as important as the
commitment to become someone more open and generous. Whatever the
quality of motivation, when we intentionally reach out to others in
giving, some degree of transformation occurs.
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The government asked the court to review its order saying it believed it "violated the principle of equality". There has been outrage over the ruling seen as a huge blow to gay rights. There have been street protests and many activists and even government ministers have criticised it. "The government has filed the review petition on Section 377 in the Supreme Court today. Let's hope the right to personal choices is preserved," Law Minister Kapil Sibal tweeted on Friday. In its petition filed in the Supreme Court, the government says "the position of the central government on this issue has been that the Delhi High Court verdict... is correct". The Supreme Court's earlier order was widely criticised in India. The president of the ruling Congress party Sonia Gandhi described it as "an archaic, unjust law" and Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the ruling had taken India "back to 1860".Very encouraging.
If
you describe a green willow in the spring rain it will be excellent,
but haiku needs more homely images, such as a crow picking snails in a
rice paddy.
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When
a candle is lit in a dark room, it illuminates the room to some extent,
but its power is limited. But if you use the same candle to light
another candle, the total brightness increases. If you continue to do
this, you can fill the room with brilliant illumination. The idea of
transferring merit to others is like this. If we keep our own light
selfishly hidden, it will only provide a limited amount of illumination.
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Eric Marcoux and Eugene Woodworth have been together since they the day they met in Chicago in 1953. “I am here today to be legally married to Eugene Woodworth, with whom I have had an intimate deeply committed relationship for a little over sixty years,” Marcoux says. Marcoux is 83 years old and Woodworth is 85. They can’t marry in Oregon, where a constitutional amendment outlaws same-sex marriage. When same-sex marriage was legalized in Washington last year, they didn’t rush across the state line to get married. “No, no, no….” says Woodworth. “We wanted to have it in Oregon,” Marcoux explains.Hit the link for the rest of the story. Take a tissue. (Tipped by JMG reader Homer)
But Woodworth has been diagnosed with congestive heart failure, and he’s been given weeks to live. They’re getting married today with the hope that Marcoux might be eligible to receive social security benefits as the surviving spouse. “We’ve observed federal government extending privileges. Then it occurred to us, ‘well, maybe we’ll be able to transfer his social security,’ which is significantly greater than mine, to me. And although it’s a modest one, it will make an enormous difference in the kind of life that I will be able to leave – live! – and leave,” Marcoux says. “He deserves it after living with me for sixty years,” Woodworth laughs.
It’s
imperative for us to understand that spiritual practice is not just
something we do when we’re sitting in meditation or when we’re on
retreat. Failing to see everything as an opportunity for practice is a
setup for frustration and disappointment, keeping us stuck where we are
and limiting our possibilities for inner growth. The more we include in
our practice, the more satisfying our life can be.
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